When it comes to communicating with your virtual assistant, it is a little bit trickier than working with someone in person. When you are just chatting and emailing with someone, some of the tone and intention of your communication might get lost in it. You really need to make sure that you can set up the correct communication systems. You must bear in mind that one of the fastest ways for a work relationship to fail when it comes to working online is miscommunication.
In this article, I will walk you through the different communication systems that I found in the last 10 years, that are really effective when it comes to working with someone online.
SET THE TONE
As the boss, you are the one in charge to making sure that your virtual assistant feels that there is open communication and that they can communicate with you easily as needed. You are the one responsible for helping them feel that they can communicate with you when there’s something wrong or if there is a bottleneck because as the boss you do need to know these things. So setting that tone of open communication is the first thing you have to do right off the bat.
BE CLEAR AND CONCISE
What I always advise our clients is to try and have a central point when you’re talking and giving instructions that you always get back to. You can give different examples and different ways to do it but there is a specific outcome that you want to see. The clearer you are with the outcome that you want to see, the faster things can get done. But of course, it won’t be perfect all the time and there might be instances when you change your mind and must change what was previously instructed. For this reason, the importance of clear communication comes into play, so your virtual assistant won’t get frustrated and confused, even if things are not going according to plan because they are well informed of the changes and why it is happening.
CLARIFY AND DOUBLE-CHECK
Whenever you are communicating something with someone, try to clarify if everything is understood. One of the best ways to do this is just to ask them to repeat what they understood or is it clear what the next action steps are. This way, you can have this back-and-forth communication of making sure that misunderstandings don’t occur.
USE DIFFERENT CHANNELS IN COMMUNICATING
Don’t be scared of trying out different communication channels to find what perfectly works for you and your virtual assistant. It is also important not to just stick to chat or email. Hop on a video call or voice call from time to time so you and your virtual assistant can learn to talk to each other beyond just the usual chat or email. You can do a quick call to check in on them, and in this way, you can also build that strong connection between you and your virtual assistant.
NOTIFY YOUR EMPLOYEE
As much as possible, if you are setting up meetings with your virtual assistant, try to give them a heads up. Again, as the boss, the employer, you set the tone, and the standards of communication. By giving them a heads up and by giving clarity on the time and what the meeting is about, your virtual assistant will know what to expect and can do the necessary preparations beforehand. In turn, your virtual assistant will do the same and notify you beforehand if there is a need for a call or meeting.
MATCH YOUR WORDS WITH ACTIONS
This is the fastest way to build trust. If your virtual assistant tells you they’ll get something done in a certain timeframe, and they do it, you are most likely to have more trust in your VA. So, the same thing on your virtual assistant’s side. If you don’t match your words with action and keep being inconsistent, it will drive your VA nuts and it will be harder for them to keep moving forward. It is understandable that there will be times that you won’t be able to do what you said, but it’s important that you keep your virtual assistant informed so they can adjust and adapt accordingly.
CARE ABOUT THEM
When you show care and empathy by checking in on your virtual assistant every once in a while, asking them how they are and if there’s anything they need, you are building that good relationship to lessen miscommunication. Your VA can also trust you as their boss, that as they are getting things done, you are taking care of them and making sure that they have everything they need to succeed.
WRAP-UP MEETINGS WITH ACTION STEPS
At the end of each discussion, always go back to discussing and verifying the next action steps. If you do this, there is that clarity of what is to be expected next. Basically, put a point to what the discussion was, to move something forward, and have a purpose on why the meeting was conducted. So always try to wrap up meetings with action steps or to-dos if there are any.
BE OPEN TO FEEDBACK
One of the books that I recommend for both our clients and virtual assistants is the book One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard. With this book, our virtual assistants know how to effectively give feedback to their clients.
As the employer, it is important that you are open to receiving feedback and suggestions from your virtual assistant so that they can feel that they can talk to you, and you are open to others’ ideas in helping your company grow.
COMMUNICATE REGULARLY
Have windows of time that you and your virtual assistant can check in on each other. Inside of 2xYou, we have 3 modes of checking in with our assistants and clients.
𝟏. 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭
- This is a report that the assistants send us by the end of the day telling us of the things that they’ve done and what tasks they need to do the following day. It is a quick way for me to check-in and see how they are doing and if they need help with anything.
𝟐. 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 - This way, we can make sure that our clients and assistants are in sync and that they’ve set the agenda or expectations for the following week.
𝟑. 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 - This is different from the daily and weekly reports. This is an actual coaching call that we do with our virtual assistants on what else they can do better for the next month considering the things that they want to improve from the last month.
These are the regular things that a virtual assistant can expect from working with us. So it is important for you to develop some system for you and your virtual assistant to communicate regularly. This gives your VA the freedom and it eases the tension of your virtual assistant of keeping things to themselves in fear that they will be annoying or disturbing you.
Communication can make or break a good working relationship with a virtual assistant. So having a good communication system in place, like the ones mentioned above will help you ensure that miscommunications will be avoided, and great ideas will be heard and acknowledged by both you and your VA.
If you have some other good tips on how to communicate effectively with a virtual assistant, let’s discuss it in the comment section below.
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